How do I place an online order?

We’ve made our online shop simple to use, but here’s a quick step by step guide to get you started.

Go to the Shop homepage. If you have an account, sign in at the top right of the page. Otherwise you can browse and shop as a guest.

Select the country you are in (or the one you want any purchases delivered to) from the drop-down menu in the top right-hand corner of the page. If your country doesn’t appear on this list, we’re sorry but we can’t deliver products to you right now.

Browse the site and select the products you want to view by clicking on them.

You’ll be taken to the detail page of that product. To add a product to your cart, click the ‘Add to cart’ or 'Pre-order' and a mini-cart will appear on the top right of the page.

Continue shopping by using the navigation, or the search function.

Finished shopping? Just click the ‘Cart’ button at the top of the page. From here we recommend you preview your cart by clicking on YOUR SHOPPING CART at the top. Alternatively you proceed straight to the checkout.

To checkout

Check your country of delivery (top right corner), and review your selections, prices, and discounts. If you have a promotional code, click ADD CODE and enter it here. Please note that the cart will always calculate the best discount for you. Click PROCEED TO CHECKOUT.

Enter your customer information. Our system accepts English language addresses only, and does not accept accents (e.g. á, Ü, Ó etc). If you have an account and are logged in, your default details will appear here. Make sure the shipping and billing addresses are the ones you want to use for this order. You can also add a promo code on this page too.

Once you are happy with the information on this page, click CONTINUE TO SHIPPING METHOD.

Select your shipping method after reviewing any conditional information and delivery times on this page. Note that there might only be one method available. If you are satisfied, click CONTINUE TO PAYMENT.

Select your payment method. Lonely Planet accepts payment via Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Visa Debit and Visa Electron (UK). We do not accept payment via Discover or Diners cards, so please use one of our accepted cards if you have one. Once your details are entered and you choose to agree to the terms, click CONFIRM PURCHASE.

If you select PayPal, you will need to agree to the terms and conditions before being sent over to the PayPal site, and then click CONTINUE TO PAYPAL. If you select a credit card, refer to point 7 below.

Please ensure that the shipping address you have nominated with PayPal matches the one you have entered on our site. If your shipping address differs from the one your credit card is matched to, you will need to enter your billing address too (the billing address is needed to confirm you are the card holder).

If your payment has been successful, you will then see an order confirmation page that includes your order number and details of your purchase. It will also include download links for any ebook and chapter purchases you have made.

You will also receive an email immediately confirming these same details. Can't find it? Make sure you check your spam/junk folder as the security settings on your computer may have sent it there.

If you have an account with us, you will be able to access your purchases by logging in. For orders older than 2017, you can also access your download links at any time via our Order Status page.

Your order is now safely in our hands. Book orders will be followed up by a dispatch email, confirming that your order has left our warehouse, along with information about expected delivery times.

Payment types we accept

We accept payment via PayPal and by the following credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Visa Debit and Visa Electron (UK). Sorry, we do not accept personal checks, cashier's cheques, money orders or direct deposits.

Is it safe to use my credit card online?

When you complete a purchase using your credit card in the Lonely Planet Online Shop your transaction will be processed by WorldPay, a secure and safe system that protects your credit card details. WorldPay are a major global leader in payment processing who has helped pioneer online payment processing for businesses. To learn more about them head to http://www.worldpay.com/.

International transaction charges

All Lonely Planet online shop credit card transactions are processed centrally through WorldPay. VISA and MasterCard purchases sometimes carry an International Service Charge for cross border transactions (i.e. where the retailer and shopper are in different countries). Not all cards transactions carry this charge (it depends on your credit card issuer) and the amount is between 1-3% of the purchase total. Lonely Planet does not take receipt of these fees is unable to refund them, and any queries regarding these fees should be taken up with your card issuer.

You’ll see the country of the Lonely Planet company you’re buying from during the check-out process so you will know before you confirm the transaction whether it will be domestic or international.

Paying with Revolut cards

If you are using the travel card Revolut to make your payment and you see the message "There was a problem processing your payment. A transaction status of AUTHORISED is required", it means that while the pre-authorisation for the payment was successful, the attempt to take your payment and order was not. What you see on your financial statement is a pre-authorisation NOT a charge, and it is cancelled within minutes.

Why did it happen? It is generally one or two reasons - that there is either a mismatch between the billing country you entered and the issuing country of the card, or that the address verification on your card has failed. Double check these details and try again.

Please feel free to contact us where you see this, but we also recommend getting in touch with the issuer. The quick fix will be to use another card until you have spoken with a representative at Revolut - it may be that you just need to make them aware of your specific travel plans.

Sales taxes and duties

Some countries include sales taxes in the total cost of your purchase so you will have paid for them up front. However, delivery to some regions may incur a customs/sales tax that is payable on delivery of the goods.

Parts of Central & South America, the Caribbean, The Philippines, Indonesia, Canada and Mexico may all charge additional taxes for the delivery of your package. If you're located in these areas, check out the local tax laws before placing your order.

If you aren't sure, contact us and we'll do our best to help you. Being aware of your local sales tax legislation is the responsibility of the consumer and we are unable to refund any amount charged at the point of delivery.

Please be aware that Lonely Planet does not receive any amount of these additional taxes.

What's a CVC code & how do I find it?

The Card Verification Code (also known as CVC or CVV) is a number that appears on your credit card that lets us verify that the person placing the order has direct access to the credit card being used.

On Visa & MasterCard: The last three numbers as they appear on the signature panel on the back of the card.

On American Express: The four digit number that appears in the top right corner on the front of the card.

Gift vouchers

Unfortunately we do not offer gift vouchers at this point in time, but we are looking to have these available as an option in the near future. We know this is taking longer than expected - hold tight! We have a great range of general interest gift titles available here if you're looking for some inspiration.

Special characters

Unfortunately our system doesn’t recognize special characters such as Chinese text, accents and umlauts or double quotes (“). If your details include any of these, this may cause a misprint on your shipping label and cause your parcel to be delayed or worse, lost. The safest option is simply to input all your details in basic English characters only.